Although outside linebacker loomed as a need area for the Bears last offeason until the Labor Day weekend trade to acquire Khalil Mack, cornerback, along with wide receiver, was the most pressing priority for general manager Ryan Pace.

Starting cornerbacks Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara were headed to unrestricted free agency and Bryce Callahan was a restricted free agent. The top three cornerbacks for a defense that ranked No. 10 in the NFL had uncertain futures at a position the team had struggled to develop until the trio provided stability in 2017.

It required a calculated plan that involved a certain amount of risk when the Bears made a play to bring all three back. Pace and the front office chose the seldom-used transition tag for Fuller, who reached the potential the franchise saw in him when former general manager Phil Emery used the 14th pick in the 2014 draft on him. Fuller did not play in a single game in 2016, so the Bears made the predictable and correct decision to decline the fifth-year option in his contract. Then, Fuller rebounded to play better than ever before in 2017, paving the way for him to get paid.

The transition tag at $12.971 million put the Bears in a position where they would save a little money compared with the franchise-tag figure of $14.975 million. More importantly, it set a lower floor from which to start negotiations for a multiyear contract.

However, the transition tag made Fuller an attractive option for other teams, so it wasn’t surprising when the Packers signed him to an offer sheet featuring a four-year contract worth $56 million with $19 million guaranteed. For practical purposes, it committed the Packers to $29 million over the first two years before they would be able to go year-to-year making a decision on Fuller.

The Packers front-loaded the contract with an $18 million signing bonus that provided him with $20 million in 2018, designed to give the Bears second thoughts, knowing they would be heavily active in free agency at other positions — think wide receiver Allen Robinson, tight end Trey Burton and even kicker Cody Parkey along with Amukamara. The contract, which was designed unlike most of the deals the Bears write, did force the Bears to pay out more cash in Year 1 than they typically would, but the team acted almost immediately, announcing it would match the offer.

That move was finalized after the Bears paid big money to keep Amukamara, signing him to a three-year, $27 million contract with a strong guarantee of $18 million. Callahan was secured with the low tender offer for RFAs at $1.9 million and the Bears had the trio set to return.

The investment paid for itself in a big way as Fuller tied for the NFL lead with seven interceptions, earned All-Pro recognition and was selected to his first Pro Bowl. Amukamara enjoyed arguably had the best season of his eight-year career and Callahan performed as one of the best slot cornerbacks in the league. The Bears led the NFL with 27 interceptions, the most they’ve had since 31 in 1990. They easily led the league in opponent’s passer rating at 72.9, a product of the entire system — the coverage, the pass rush and the play by the safeties.

2018 season review: If anything plagued Fuller during his breakout 2017 season, it was his inability to hold on to the football as he suffered through a slew of drops. So when the Bears led the Packers 23-17 with 2:39 remaining the in the season opener and Aaron Rodgers’ pass intended for Davante Adams in the right flat went through Fuller’s arms and bounced off him incomplete, it looked like a bad replay of the previous season. Two plays later, Rodgers hit Randall Cobb for a 75-yard touchdown and the Packers won.

The disappointing drop overshadowed a pretty good game for the defense, and the Bears took off from there with outstanding play in the secondary. Fuller led the NFL in passes defended with 21, according to STATS, and Amukamara tied for 20th with 12. Fuller broke out with two interceptions in the Week 6 game in Miami, the first Bears player to have two picks in a game since Fuller did it as a rookie in 2014. He had a pick in three straight games against the Lions, Giants and Rams. Fuller tied for second in targets for cornerbacks with 105, according to Pro Football Focus, eight behind the Chiefs’ Steve Nelson. That mirrored what happened in 2017, when he led the NFL with 119. Opposing quarterbacks have not shied away from going at Fuller the last two seasons. Now that he’s coming off an All-Pro season, will quarterbacks begin to look the other way? How big of a drop-off in targets is there for elite cornerbacks? The Cardinals’ Patrick Peterson, who played all 16 games, was tied for 73rd in targets with 52, less than half as many as Fuller.

Even with quarterbacks going at Fuller, he delivered. The passer rating on targets at Fuller was 66.6, according to PFF, and among cornerbacks with a minimum of 50 targets, that ranked third in the NFL behind the Dolphins’ Xavien Howard (62.6) and the Broncos’ Chris Harris (63.6).

Amukamara set a bold goal of 10 interceptions before the season, and while that didn’t happen, he played with confidence after going through a contract season each of the previous three years. Having some security allowed him to just go out and play. He had a pick-six in the Week 2 victory over the Seahawks and added interceptions against the Lions and Rams. Amukamara had 66 tackles to lead the position and three tackles for a loss with two forced fumbles. The passer rating against him was 82.9, and he tied for 19th in the NFL with 83 targets, per PFF.

Callahan excelled in the slot and had two interceptions, two sacks and six passes defended. He was knocked out for the season in Week 14 with a broken bone in his left foot. That cut short his goal of making it through an entire season with no injuries, but he was outstanding when he was on the field and for slot cornerbacks he ranked fifth in the league with a 78.9 passer rating against, per PFF (minimum 30 targets).

McManis finally got another shot on defense after playing mostly special teams the previous two seasons. He played well in that role and had 168 coverage snaps with 26 targets. The passer rating against him was only 53.4.

Toliver, an undrafted rookie, shined in minicamp and continued to make plays over the summer to earn a roster spot. He got his first real shot at playing time with a start against the Buccaneers in Week 4 when he had seven tackles. Toliver has good size and good instincts and will provide solid depth moving forward. Williams had only 12 snaps on defense at the end of the season and Cooper played only three snaps before being let go.

Free agency/draft priority: Callahan is an unrestricted free agent and figures to be a priority for the Bears to re-sign. Having another season cut short by injury probably will affect him a bit in free agency, but there will surely be a market for him. With departed coordinator Vic Fangio running the Broncos, you would think Denver could be a landing spot for Callahan, but the Broncos have used Harris in the slot, so maybe not. I expect the Bears to prioritize bringing Callahan back and they could include per-game roster bonuses to get him to the kind of pay he’s seeking. Callahan switched representation to veteran agent Todd France to prepare himself for free agency. Toliver has a chance to improve in the offseason and be in the mix for depth and McManis has one year remaining on his contract. Teams always want to be working the bottom of the depth chart at cornerback, but the Bears are well-positioned.

Bottom line: With Fuller and Amukamara back and quality depth guys, the only real question is what the team does at nickel. This has become a position of strength on the roster and the Bears will transition as secondary coach Ed Donatell left to become the coordinator of the Broncos. Deshea Townsend, an NFL veteran, has been hired as the replacement.